holidays

September 22nd can only mean one thing — it’s the 67th anniversary of American Business Women’s Day! Some of you may not be familiar with the holiday and that’s perfectly okay. From its humble yet mighty founding date in 1949 to present-day social media campaigns that fight for and champion working women everywhere, we’ve got your primer to exploring little-known facts behind the big day and how it has gone the extra mile to celebrate businesswomen.

As the owner of a small business, you have a lot of freedom in deciding how things are going to be run. If you wanted to, and you felt it wouldn’t impact your business negatively, you could give yourself and your employees a winter break, elementary school style! Each business tackles the holidays a little differently when it comes to taking some time off in a season infamously known for traveling away from the office. We asked 15 of our small business experts how they tackle their holiday schedule and this is what they had to say: (more…)

We’ve just entered the month of December, so you know what that means…. time for the “Magical Month of MyCorp!” Each day during the month of December, we do something special to keep the holiday spirit alive and well while we’re working away! This has been a tradition for a couple years now in the MyCorp family, and we’re ecstatic to get the ball rolling this year!

Here’s a recap of the magical happenings that went on this week:

On Monday, we welcomed Hanukkah with latkes, wine, and a lit Menorah.

Tuesday we picked up our tree and decorated it!

Wednesday was for blind chocolate tasting – no peeking at the flavors!

We found ourselves at a yummy pizza party on Thursday.

And along with our usual Friday bagels, we enjoyed some challah this morning.

Happy first week of the “Magical Month of MyCorp,” folks! Stay tuned for another week of magic and a look at our holiday party next week!

Here at MyCorporation, we’re busy prepping for the end of the year and looking forward to what 2014 will bring for small businesses and entrepreneurs. But while our prep involves helping to file delayed filings or incorporating or forming LLCs for small businesses, we’re curious to see how other companies are closing out 2013. Today, we have 24 small business professionals giving us a look at what they’re working on for their brands and their biggest business tips on how to close out the end of the year!

1. “Make a resolution to focus on one social media platform. Social media is not going away and it’s time for small business to step up.”

2. “We are making sure all inventory is in stock and organized, all marketing materials ready to go and short lead press releases being sent to appropriate parties. We look forward to a successful holiday season!”

3. “At year end, I always check in with everyone who was interested to hire us during the year but didn’t. Many times companies find “use it or lose it funds” on the books at the end of the year and if you hit the timing right, they may just reopen the conversation where you left off before and have you invoice them in December to get the found money off the books. Then you can start the new year strong with motivated clients who will return your calls fast since they have already paid you!”

The digital community expects you to stay on top of major holidays year-round. It looks pretty bad when a business overlooks a widely celebrated holiday and just goes along with the usual content and strategies. Holidays are a great way to create excitement, make noise, and even boost sales. Here are some ideas to get you started:

1.Change your cover photo

Whether you are trying to spread some Valentine’s Day love or some Christmas cheer, a great way to start is by updating your cover photos to reflect that. Social media is becoming more visual by the day, so give the people what they want – pictures! Find or create an image that reflects your business and the holiday and make it your cover photo on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and any other platform. (more…)

The holidays are here and hopefully you’ve used this time to reconnect with your customers! One way many businesses are standing out during the holiday season is by holidizing.

If you’re unfamiliar, holidizing is when you add a bit of the holiday season into your brand’s designs. Add a holiday touch it on your logo, company emails, website and more. Holidizing your brand’s designs is a great way to distinguish your business and in turn, increase revenue. (more…)

As another holiday season is upon us, it’s important to remember everyone involved with your business, and recognize their contributions in a meaningful way. In short, acknowledge the team of people that make it possible to run a successful small business. Here are some simple ways you can recognize their contributions: (more…)

Last Friday, the MyCorp team took a break from the work day to take on the challenge on building gingerbread houses – with a twist. Each team was given only 30 minutes, 2 packages of graham crackers, a can of frosting, and a huge pile of candy to build the ultimate gingerbread house. And boy were our teams creative! Check out the winners below and their creative gingerbread houses! (more…)

Decorating for the holidays is not something MyCorporation takes lightly! Last winter, The Magical Month of MyCorp was established, where each day of December included a festive activity for the office to partake in. One day we’d have a cookie exchange, the next we’d all be trying our luck at the lottery with Scratch-offs for everyone in the office, and another day our CEO Deborah would head out and pick up Starbucks for everyone to beat that 2:30 feeling back with.

This year, the Magical Month of MyCorp is back in action and the activity of decorating the office has turned into pure winter wonderland mayhem. In fact, the office has been so gung-ho about decorating that it became a contest between the departments.

While most people think of fitness goals when making their New Year’s resolutions, it’s also smart to get your personal and business financial documents in shape. After the holiday season is out of the way, it seems like tax time is right around the corner for your small business. It’s never too early to start getting your documents in order in case you want to buy a business or recapitalize your existing one. (more…)